Ancient Civilizations Vocabulary

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Civilization_ Civilization is the way of life of a group of people or a nation. Civilization includes the art,
science, economy, and government of a people.
Fertile_ Fertile land is good for growing crops.
Domesticate_To domesticate means to tame wild animals so that they can be used by people.
Cuneiform_ Cuneiform is a form of writing that was used in Mesopotamia.
Irrigate_ Irrigate means to bring water to dry land, usually by ditches and canals, so that crops will grow.
Temple_ A temple is a building where people pray to a god or gods.
Ziggurat_ A ziggurant was the temple at the middle of a Sumerian city.
Conquered_ To conquer means to defeat or to win. The Babylonians conquered the Sumerians.
Drought_ A drought is a long period of time without rain.
Slave_ A slave is a person who is owned by another person.
Monotheism_ Monotheism is the belief of one god.
Judaism_ Judaism is the religion of the Jews.
Exodus_ The Exodus occurred when Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt. Exodus means "departure".
Pharaoh_ A pharaoh was a king or queen of ancient Egypt.
Mummification_ Mummification was the way the Egyptians protected a dead body. They put chemicals on
the body and wrapped it in cloth. Finally they covered the wrapped body in a mixture like tar.
Tomb_ A tomb is a place or building where the dead are buried.
Pyramids_ A pyramid is a stone building with four sides that are shaped like triangles. The
Egyptians used pyramids as tombs.
Papyrus_ Papyrus is a kind of paper made by the ancient Egyptians from plants growing along the Nile
river.
Hieroglyphics_ Hieroglyphics, or picture writing, was the writing system used by the ancient Egyptians.
distance scale_ A distance scale is used to compare a distance on a map to a distance on Earth.
Dynasty_ A dynasty is a family who rules over a land. A dynasty takes place over many years and
generations.
Caste_A caste is a group that does the same type of work. The Aryans in India divided people
into castes. People were born into castes.
Archaeology_ Archaeology is a science that deals with past human life and activities by studying the
bones, tools, etc., of ancient people.

Archaeologists_ Archaeologists study artifacts and other things to learn how humans
lived long ago.
Artifacts_ Artifacts are objects made andleft by people who lived long ago.
Hinduism_ Hinduism is a religion followed by many people in India.
Savannah_ A savannah is a grassy plain with few or no trees.
Caravan_ A caravan is a group of people and animals that travel together.
Sculpture_ Sculpture is the art of using wood, stone, metal or clay to make forms such as statues.
The two rivers that run through Mesopotamia are: The Tigris and The Euphrates
The person who led the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt was Moses
The ruler of Egypt was called the pharaoh
An ancient city on the Indus River in India was called Mohenjo-Daro
A great Chinese teacher was named Confucius
The city of Meroe was the capital of Kush
The ancient land of Mesopotamia is also called the Fertile Crescent

Name the 5 steps to developing a civilization.

1. Pe o p l e l e a rn e d h o w to g ro w c ro p s .
2) Pe o p l e b u i l t p e rma n e n t h o me s .
3) Pe o p l e b e g a n to d e ve l o p te c h n o l o g y.
4) Pe o p l e ma d e i n te l l e c tu a l a c h i e ve me n ts .
5) Pe o p l e b e g a n to c re a te l a ws a n d ru l e s to h e l p th e m l i veto g e th e r.
The form of writing that the Sumerian people developed was known as cuneiform
Hammurabi's laws helped the________________ live together____________________.
Babylonians
peacefully
The Exodus was the trip the Hebrews made from Egypt to Canaan.
The Ten Commandments were__________ the ___________followed.
laws
Hebrews
The Nile River valley was similar to the lands of the Fertile Crescent
because _______________. the land was fertile
The pharaoh made ____________for all the people in __________.
laws
Egypt
Egyptians believed that after death people would live again.
The pyramids were _____________for the Egyptian ____________.
tombs
pharaohs
Egyptians contributions to civilizationincluded a kind of ______________, a written ___________, and a
___________.
paper
language
calendar
The Egyptian system of writing is called _____________________. hieroglyphics
Where did Indian civilization begin? The Indus River valley
Chinese civilization began in _____________. The Huang He valley
One important belief of Hinduism is that people are _________ ____________ after they die. born again
The highest caste in Indian society included _____________. Priests
Chinese writing has ______________ of characters. Thousands
Confucius thought that people must _____________ and____________ one another.
honor
respect
Archaeologists know that people lived in the Sahara thousands of years ago because
__________________.
cave paintings have been
found in the Sahara
The people of Kush tamed animals to ___________________. Carry tools and gold to
far away places
Asian traders came to Axum to trade for ___________and_________. Gold and ivory
The people of Ghana traded gold for __________. Salt
In a caravan people travel together with ____________. Animals
Under Mansa Musa, the kingdom of Mali became a center for _____________. Learning